Koxinga's Controversial Father and Mysterious Mother: A Tragic Love Story

Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), who expelled the Dutch and established the first Han Chinese regime in Taiwan in 1662, has been “claimed” by various states as a hero wearing different hats. However, his Chinese father Zheng Zhilong's pirate and turncoat status and his Japanese mother Tagawa Matsu's unclear origin make his family's history rife with sex, violence, and betrayal. The existence of a Japanese (half-?) brother Tagawa Shichizaemon added more suspicions of the matrimony of his parents. This essay critically examines Chinese and Japanese primary sources and secondary literature to demonstrate how layer upon layer of accreted accounts twisted historical memories of the Zhengs every step of the way. One cannot but empathize with the family that lost many members to violent deaths and endured relentless prejudices in their struggle to transcend familial stigma while making history.